


Shadows in the Dark

by medi



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Gen, No Deeprealms, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 15:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16875678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/medi/pseuds/medi
Summary: Siegbert and Midori go searching for herb seeds in the woods and stumble into some unfortunate circumstances.





	Shadows in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh lol I wasn't gonna post this 'cause I'm not totally satisfied with it but I'm like u kno what whatever I'm gonna do it anyways 'cause I really love my kids and their dads. no deeprealms here 'cause fuck that shit these babies were raised normally. On that note I tried to make it clear how they differentiate between their dads so I hope that's not too confusing.  
> also idc what intsys says none of the Fates kids are adults those are CHILDREN. I mention Siegbert's age outright but for reference Midori is 12.  
> warning for depiction of dead bodies I tried not to make it too gross.

"Come on, Sigi!" Midori tugged incessantly at her brother's hand, urging him deeper into the woods.

"I'm coming, Midori," Siegbert assured her. "We shouldn't go much farther; Papa and Father have warned us about how dangerous these woods can be."

Midori pouted. "You're such a fradey-cat, Sigi. Besides, if we get these herb seeds, we can plant them in the garden and we won't ever have to come here again. Daddy and Papa won't mind it just this once."

Perhaps she couldn't recall the stern faces of their fathers as clearly as him. Their voices were gentle, but the threat of punishment lingered beneath.

"I'm not scared of anything!" he insisted nonetheless. "You're my little sister, so I'm just trying to keep you out of trouble."

"Don't tell on me then." She stuck her tongue out at him and he sighed.

They trudged through mud and puddles, tree branches sometimes dripping freshly-fallen raindrops onto their heads. The scents of pine, sap, and wet grass swirled around them, sweet smells of a forest that had received some much-needed rain. On another day, they might have taken a pleasant walk beside their fathers and reveled in the lushness brought by the three days' rain. Knowing how much his papa enjoyed the rain-soaked forest, Siegbert almost suggested it to them, had Midori not gotten to him first.

His sister now stopped her confident march, captivated by something ahead.

"What's that?" she whispered.

Siegbert urged her behind a wide tree trunk where they could spy safely.

Dark figures huddled in a tight circle at the forest floor, red splattered in the grass beneath them and staining their boots as they squatted in it.

Siegbert's heart leapt. "Did they...?"

One figure moved aside, revealing to them a soldier dressed in Nohrian knights' garb.

"That's one of ours!" Midori gasped.

"And a knight, too," Siegbert murmured. "Gods... he was a new recruit, but..."

He turned to Midori, who was balling up her fists at her sides.

"Midori, we should go," he said. "We can come back for the herbs later. These people are... they're murderers."

Maybe if he were on his own... but she was with him, and he wouldn't risk her getting hurt.

"No!" she objected. "They killed one of our knights! What if they hurt someone else? We have to stop them!"

"Midori!" He reached for her and she slipped from his grasp.

She stood spread-legged across from the villains, balled fists on her hips.

"Hey!"

The men and women turned to her. One drew a knife, and Siegbert prepared to jump to her defense, but another stilled his comrade, motioning to the circlet around her head that marked her as the first princess of Nohr. The group began to fall back, retreating further into the woods.

"Oh no you don't!" Midori drew her bow, reaching for an arrow in her quiver. "Come back here!"

"Midori, no!" Siegbert unsheathed his sword as she charged after them.

He swore he heard other voices chorus their names with his own when he followed her. Their fathers? Or was he simply hoping for a rescue that wouldn't come?

But he heard it again, between the blood pumping in his ear, his father's commanding voice calling them, himself loudest of all. He pushed on. A moment's hesitation and he could lose Midori forever.

They'd never be allowed to leave the castle again after this. Surely Midori heard her name, and just as surely Siegbert heard his. This was blatant disobedience. Yet she was bent on justice, and he would not leave her to dispense it alone. He could run quicker than them, run faster than even his father's horse, at least at this distance.

He met corpses along the way, face-down, arrows in their backs. If any of the vile criminals sprung out to attack him, he cut them down. The blood made his stomach churn but it wouldn't stop him.

"Sigi!"

Midori, backed against a tree, reached out for her brother. Her arrows were useless at such a close range.

"I'm coming, Midori!" Siegbert shoved his way through the murderers with the blade of his sword. "Move! Leave her alone!"

She clung to him once he was beside her, teary-eyed, and he held her close.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm... I'm alright, yeah." she said, nodding her head against his chest.

Then she gasped, and pointed a shaking finger at shadows emerging from the trees. It was then Siegbert noticed all the bodies. Not of the people they'd killed, but old corpses, Nohrian soldiers and some poor villagers, strung up from the trees or strewn on the ground or speared, in varying states of decay. The smell hit him all at once, and he wanted to double over and vomit. The reports of raids on villages and whole squads of soldiers going missing when sent to investigate... these must be the people responsible.

He stood, held an arm out in front of Midori. She gripped his clothes at his side. His heart pounded against his chest, sword arm wavering, and he swallowed hard. Shadows bearing blades rusted with blood closed in on them.

 _Don't be afraid._ Siegbert told himself. _You can't be afraid. This isn't the time to be scared. I have to... do whatever I can. I have to fight._

He raised his sword. His back hit the tree trunk behind him. No escape.

To his left, a knife pierced one man's throat. The man gurgled and spat blood, collapsing. Another went down after him, back cut open. The rest faced their new assailants, ignoring the cornered children, and were met with King Xander of Nohr and his husband, King-Consort Kaze.

"Father! Papa!" Siegbert lost all strength in his limbs and fell to the ground against the tree. Midori's cry of "Daddy, Papa!" echoed his.

"Close your eyes, both of you!" Xander commanded, given a brief window to speak while the raiders prepared a counterattack. "Now!"

They both made sounds of protest, unable to form proper sentences, but the raiders gave their father no time for a rebuttal, dragging him into a vicious battle.

"Do as your father says!" Kaze shouted above the clash of weapons before joining Xander.

Siegbert lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut, hugging Midori tight. She hid her face in his arms. They heard sharp edges slicing flesh, howls of pain, men dying and bones breaking, but not once did they dare to look.

Silence came after what felt like hours. Arms wrapped around them both: the smell of blood and sweat. Siegbert lifted his head now, at the sound of a sniffle. Kaze had embraced them, trying and failing to keep the tears from his eyes.

Siegbert could not recall ever seeing him cry. His papa was a ninja, and they were always to be emotionless. That aside, as a ruler of Nohr, he alongside the king had a certain decorum to maintain. That he was in tears, because of this... shame filled Siegbert's heart.

"Why did you run?" Kaze said to them, barely above a whisper. "Don't scare us like that. We were so worried..."

Xander knelt in front of them, putting his big arms around them, and Siegbert knew for certain he had never seen his brave but stoic father cry, yet he, too, shed tears over them.

"Thank the gods you're both alright," he said after a shaky breath. "If _anything_ had happened to you..."

They were drenched in blood, and probably not their own. Siegbert decided he didn't care. He clutched at their clothes as if he were four years old again and they were comforting him after a nightmare. He never once dreamed of this thing that had happened, nothing of its kind. He would now. Raiders and blood and rotting dead. More than that, though, he regretted bringing his fathers into this, pushing them to such a violent fight for the sake of himself and Midori. They didn't deserve that. Not after all they'd done for their children.

"I'm so sorry..." he said, his soft voice making the painful, sombre words quiet.

"I'm sorry too," Midori said, hugging her fathers at the same time as best she could. "I'm so, so sorry..."

At some point, the two of them had begun crying also. Eventually Midori spoke again, half choking on her tears:

"Are you... are you mad at us?"

A childish question, still, one that Siegbert had wondered himself. Their fathers exchanged glances.

"We're not mad at you," Kaze said finally. The gentleness in his voice Siegbert was so accustomed to had returned. "You frightened us terribly, though. Please never, ever do that again. Can you promise me that?"

"We promise." Siegbert and Midori said together, nodding, then stared up at their other father for his agreement.

"You're safe," Xander said. "That's what matters. We're not mad. Upset, perhaps. But not mad. You won't be punished for this, either; you've been through enough today. Does the promise you gave Papa apply to me as well?"

"Of course it does," Siegbert said, able to smile despite everything. "Right, Midori?"

"Mmhm. We won't scare you again, promise!" She held out her pinky finger, and, seeing her intention, Siegbert held out his own beside hers.

Their fathers smiled, this little gesture softening their features that had been marred by grief and fear, and they connected their pinkies with their children's.

Maybe sixteen was too old to be doing something so silly, making a pinky promies with your parents alongside your little sister. But gods did Siegbert ever need this brief sense of normalcy. He was content to be a child again. In fact he could go home and wedge himself between his fathers and fall asleep by the fireside and wake up finding they'd tucked him into bed while he slept. He could become ten years younger and do all this again. Listen to his papa sing old Hoshidan melodies. Listen to his father tell tales of glory and heroes passed down through the ages.

His father asked if they were ready to go home, and he eagerly conceded with Midori, fantasizing about the childish things awaiting him there.

**Author's Note:**

> this cute family makes me so soft you guys.


End file.
